Lost Souls
by KatPeeta23
Summary: He's a beautiful writer, but a major loner, spending every second in his Michigan beach house at his desk, bent over paper with a pencil in his hand. When he's not in his house, he's out on the boat. She's a pet store owner, and when they get to know each other, they realize they have a past, and it's a past that'll change their entire lives.
1. Chapter 1

_Then_

"Let's get married." Peeta said. He was my best friend. Is blonde hair fell in his face and his blue eyes shined. We loved each other, like our Mama's and Daddy's love each other. We kissed sometimes. We got some help from some grown up and our best friends, Johanna, and Finnick, and Annie. We used the rings from the candy machine. We stayed strong until seventh grade, and Johanna and Annie and Finnick moved up in the grades with us. We were best friends. Johanna and Finnick's parents are very close with Peeta, because they grew up together. Annie and my parents are close because they grew up together, too.

Halfway through seventh grade, Peeta grabbed my hand and stopped me in the hall on the way to forth period. Annie is walking next to me. She stops, too.

"I'm moving." He looks destroyed.

"Moving!" I ask. "Where!"

"North Carolina."

We lived in Orlando, Florida.

"Johanna and Finnick are coming with me. We're leaving after school."

Oh, I was so mad. I threw that candy machine ring at his head.

I never saw him again.

_Now, Ten Years Later_

"Hey, do you want to go to the movies tonight?" Gale asks.

"I told you that I have to take Prim to dance." I say irritably.

"Why the fuck do you have to take that kid everywhere!" he yells. "You never want to spend time with me!"

I sigh in irritation and go outside. He scares me sometimes. I think he might hit me. He follows me. I live with Annie, and she's at work.

"You don't even want to have sex with me! It's been a year! What the fuck is wrong with that!"

This is a very busy town, and people are outside with their kids all the time. Everyone is outside but my neighbor. My neighbor is never outside. He's a loner.

"Gale-"

He grabs my arm, and he's going to leave a bruise.

He's watching from the window. My neighbor. I think he's a writer, because he's always at the desk in his sunroom that faces Lake Michigan, the beach. He loves the beach, I think. He has a boat, and an anchor in his yard. He takes care of it. The bac of our houses face the beach, and my yard has a white picket fence and Annie and I spend a lot of time out there.

"You're not going to bring Prim to dance." He says.

"The fuck I'm not!" I shove him off me. "I'm breaking up with you. Get the fuck out of here.

He reaches for me. "Go! You have thirty seconds or I'm calling the police!"

Annie pulls into the driveway. If he does something she'll beat his ass. Annie is normally gentle, but not when it comes to Gale. She hates him, and she's very protective over me. We're blood sisters, and we've known each other since birth.

She gets out of the car and looks between Gale and I. She sees the mark on my arm, and she starts _screaming_ at him, and then she gets pissed, and she calls the police.

Gale speeds off.

"Sit down." Annie says.

I sit down in the grass and she goes in the house and comes back with an ice pack. She puts it on my arm.

"What happened?"

"He was pissed because I won't have sex with him and because I'm bringing Prim to dance today." I mutter.

"Did you break up with him?" she asks, holding her breath.

"Yes."

"Good. I hate him."

"Me too."

"If you hate him, why did you date him?"

"Because…"

"Because Peeta Mellark." She says. "Honey, it's been eleven years."

"I don't care."

"I still think Finnick is cute, but…"

"You haven't had a boyfriend either, Annie."

"God, we are fucked up, aren't we?"

I nod quietly. A squad car pulls into my driveway, and a cop walks over to us.

"Did he leave a mark?" he asks.

"Yes." I show him my arm, and he sighs.

"Do you want to press charges?"

I really don't, and I don't feel like paying for it.

"I'd rather get a restraining order. Pressing charges will piss him off and send him after me."

He nods. "Well you'll have to go to the court house for that."

I nod. He questions me some, and Annie, and then he asks the neighbors what they saw, and then he gets in his car and leaves.

When Annie and I went off to Business College at University of Michigan, our parents moved to Holland, Michigan, and when we graduated last year, we moved to Holland, bought a nice beach house for cheap and we opened up a pet store together. It gets good business because it's the only one with puppies and kittens and bunnies and hamsters.

Prim is my sixteen year old sister. She loves dancing, so I've got to take her to dance today because Daddy and Mama are going out to dinner with Annie's parents. My parents planned their pregnancies with Annie's. Annie and I were planned, and we're best friends, just like they wanted. Only, Mrs. Cresta didn't have a girl when Mama had Prim, she had a boy, and now Prim and Luke have a crush on each other.

"We should try to find them." Annie says.

"Find who?"

She smiles.

"Johanna and Peeta and Finnick."

"Oh, that'll be-"

"Would you hurry the fuck up!" a girl yells from the porch of the neighbor's house. A guy gets out of the car and walks in with the girl.

I can hear the guy say to our neighbor, "You need a girlfriend."

"Yeah, you've gotta move on."

"Sounds familiar." Annie smiles. "That guy was hot."

"You can find someone! I'm single too. Why not those hot chicks next door?"

Annie smirks.

"Let's go inside." I say. "I need to shower and get changed. I have to get Prim in an hour."

"Alright," Annie says. "I'll make dinner while you're gone. What do you want?"

"Um…I don't care."

"Let's have grilled chicken and mashed potatoes and green beans at the beach."

"Alright." I go and take a shower, and then I put on red heels, short shorts that I pull up to make my ass look better, but no camel toe, and a white crop top with red flowers on it and ruffles and a gold spiked necklace. I put my sunglasses on my head and grab my wallet, phone, and keys. I put on deodorant, and I go out to the garage and get in my convertible BMW. It's red. I put the top down, because I know Prim's gonna ask anyways, and I back out of the driveway and go down the street.

I head to Mama and Daddy's and honk the horn. Prim comes out in spandex and a t-shirt and flip flops, her dance bag over her shoulder, and her blond hair up in a bun.

"What happened to your arm?" she asks.

"Uh…Gale." I say.

"He did that to you?" she demands as I start to drive.

"Yes he did, but I broke up with him and I'm getting a restraining order. Don't tell Mom and Dad. Daddy will want to kill him."

"I hate him." she says.

"Me too." I reply. I pull up in front of her dance and she gets out. I wait till she's inside and has given me the thumbs up to drive off.

I get home and put my car in the garage.

When I walk in the house, Annie is outside talking to someone. I take put my phone and keys and wallet o the table by the door after texting Mama that Prim's at dance, and I brush my hair because it's messy from having the top down, and then I go outback. It's sand, and the beach is _right_ there.

That boy that was at the neighbor's house is here, and the girl, and the boy that actually lives there is here, too.

"Oh, and this is my roommate." Annie says.

"Hi." I say, opening the door to toss my shoes in the house and to let Nugget out. She's our chocolate lab.

Now that I look at them, they all look a bit familiar.

"Now will you tell us your names?" Annie asks.

"Once you tell us yours." The boy says: the one that doesn't live there.

"You guys look really familiar." I say.

"That's what I said." Annie says, "And they agreed with me."

We're quiet for a while. "Well someone has to say their name." the boy that lives in the house says. This is the first time I've really seen him, and he's _really_ cute.

"Why don't you say it?" the other boy asks the girl. The boy that lives there has blond hair and blue eyes. The girl has brown hair and dark eyes and the other boy has bronze hair and green eyes.

"Fine." She says. "I'm Johanna Mason."

I look at Annie, and she looks at me, and then we're quiet.

"What?" she snaps. "That's my fucking name!"

"Now one of you has to say it." The blond says.

He smiles, and my stomach flutters.

I look at Annie.

"Um…" Annie stammers. "I'm Annie…Cresta."

Realization dawns on them, and nobody speaks.

"Is this a joke?" Johanna blurts.

Annie shakes her head.

"Well I'm Finnick Odair." Finnick says. "I can't believe this."

This is too much.

"Um…Katniss Everdeen." I mutter.

"Peeta Mellark."


	2. Chapter 2

"Well." Johanna stands up, breaking the silence. "Now that I know that I actually know you, Peeta tells me there was a jackass that did _that_ to your arm." Johanna points to me arm. "Who the fuck is he?"

Annie wrinkles her nose. "I hate him."

"He ex boyfriend."

"Why?" she asks.

"Um…" I shrug. "I don't know."

"She hates him." Annie says.

"If you hate him, why were you dating him?" Finnick asks.

"She was dating him because she was trying to distract herself from Peeta." Annie says.

I look at Annie in rage and then turn around and go in the house, slamming the door behind me.

Annie doesn't hesitate to follow me.

"What the fuck!" I whisper shout. "It's been eleven years! You can't just lie something like that on him!"

"Oh calm down." She waves me off. "_Clearly_ he still has feelings for you."

"We don't know that." I whisper.

She laughs. "Yes we do. He won't stop staring at you, and he's smiling _a lot_. When you left, I heard Finnick whisper 'now's your chance' to him! He still loves you, Katniss! He bet he still has those fucking rings."

"Bullshit. He probably threw them in the garbage."

"You're an idiot!" she whispers.

"Annie-" I begin.

"Let's ask him." She says.

"What! No!" she grabs my hand and drags me back outside.

"Katniss thinks you threw the rings away." She says, shoving me out the door and slamming it. "I told her she's an idiot; because _clearly_ you still have feelings for her, and I know she still…" she lets out a long breath. "She still loves you."

I'm glaring at her right now, and she just smiles.

Finnick snickers. "Told you." Peeta glares at him, and Johanna smirks.

"Do you still have them?" Annie asks.

He lets out a long sigh. "I've still got them." He says.

"They're in his fucking pocket." Johanna says. "He keeps them in his wallet, and he loves you. He won't admit it, but he's twenty three, spends every fucking second of his life at the goddamn desk, and if he's not at the desk, he's out on the water. He's a loner."

"And a virgin." Finnick says. Peeta punches his arm. "Oh come on." He says. "Are you really getting mad? Once she gets out of her shell she'll start making fun of you too. She always did."

"She won't make fun of him." Annie says. "She's a damn virgin."

"So are you." I say. "And you won't get a boyfriend either! Why? Because you _still_ have a crush on Finnick!"

Annie looks at me in outrage, and I glare back. She knows I spill shit when I get mad.

My phone starts ringing from inside, so I go in and get it.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Hi." Prim sounds pissed. I go back outside.

"What?" I ask.

"My fucking dance teacher is what's wrong! She sent me out because I was on my phone! I'm suspended for a fucking week and Mama won't come get me! I don't want to go home!"

I sigh. "I'll come and get you and you can sleep over." I walk in the house and get my keys and wallet and go back outside. "You better not bitch and be rude to Mama and Daddy because they won't come get you."

"I won't." she syas. "One more thing."

"What?" I ask.

"I need you to take me home so I can get my stuff and…can Luke sleep over too?"

"No."

"Why?" she demands.

"Because you're sixteen and I _know_ you guys like each other! I don't want you sixteen and pregnant and-"

"Please?" she begs. "Oh please Katniss? I really want to start dating him and we can't with Mama and Daddy around! You know how Daddy is with boys! F I told him how you and Peeta were he'd flip his top! Please Katniss? Give me a change! Imagine if it was Peeta and you were in my shoes."

I shut my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. "Fine, but you're sleeping in separate rooms tonight and if I find out that you-"

"I'm not going to have sex with him!" she snaps. "I swear. Thanks Katniss."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm on my way." I hang up on him.

"What the fuck just happened?" Johanna asks.

"I have to pick up my sister." I say. "She got kicked out of dance for being on her phone, and now her _and _Luke are spending the night."

"They're sleeping in different rooms." Annie says.

"Yeah, I made that clear. Whatever, I'll be back."

I get in my car and go get Prim. I wait in the car for her, and then I get Luke.

"I'm just letting you guys know," I say. "That Peeta and Finnick and Johanna are at our house."

"Really?" Prim asks. "Oh, yay! I love Peeta!"

I smile. "It's awkward, okay? Don't say anything to piss me or Annie off."

"Can we go to the beach?" Luke asks.

"Yes." I say. "But when it's dinner time, your asses better be back at the house."

I pull into the driveway and Prim and Luke go inside. I follow them, and they toss their shit on the couch. Luke is in tan shorts and a Hollister shirt, and Prim is in short shorts and a tank top. Her long hair is down.

They go marching outside. I follow them.

Finnick and Peeta are grilling and Annie and Johanna are laughing because Finnick burnt his hand, and Peeta's laughing. It makes me smile.

"Hi." Prim says.

"Dammit, your tits got huge." Johanna says. "And puberty did you well, Luke."

"Thanks Johanna." He says.

They were only six when they left, but they still remember them. Prim _loved_ Peeta.

"Wow Prim, you really grew up." Peeta says. "You too, Luke."

"You look like your Dad, Luke, and Prim, god, you're your mother." Finn says.

"Thanks." Prim smiles.

"Okay, go to the beach." I say. They walk off. "Stay virgins!" I yell after them. Both of them flip me off, and I snicker.

"Prim looks like your Mom." Peeta says. "A lot like her."

I nod. "Yeah, and I look nothing like her."

"No…you have her face shape, and her nose and mouth and body. Everything else is your Dad's."

I nod.

"I used to think I was adopted." I say. Finnick laughs. "Why?"

"Because…in high school, I looked nothing like my Mom. Even in middle school I didn't really look like her. God, I never looked like her! Even in elementary."

"I disagree." Peeta says. "You look like her in many ways. You just have your Dad's hair and eyes."

I shrug. "I still don't think so."

He shrugs.

Annie went into the house to make the mashed potatoes and green beans. I get paper plates. She comes out with a pot of mashed potatoes and a bowl of green beans and puts them on the decks table. Yes, we have a back deck.

Peeta drops one of the pieces of chicken, and I snicker, which makes everyone else snicker.

"You dropped something." I tease. He rolls his eyes.

They finish the chicken, and dinner is ready. I go out to the beach. I can see Prim and Luke.

"Prim! Luke!" I yell. "Dinner!"

I go back to the deck, and they run to the backyard.

We all get our food, and I get the stereo from inside and I put in my CD of random songs and press play.

We all sing along, and eat, and laugh, and it's like old times, but if different, because we're not kids anymore, and we can say what we feel, and our parents don't control us.

Everyone helps us clean up, and we go out to the beach. I have on a black pushup top and light pink bottoms for my bikini, and Annie has on a teal top and bottom. Johanna wear a black top and black bottom, pushup. Peeta has on a black and white striped Hollister bottom, and Finnick actually has tel Hollister bottoms, which are the same as Annie's.

"We need a picture." Annie says, shoving the camera at Prim.

I get the middle; one arm goes around Peeta's waist, and the other goes around Annie. Finnick stands next to Annie with his arm on her shoulder, Peeta has his arm on my shoulder, and Johanna has her arm around Peeta, and we're all leaning into one another and smiling.

Prim hands me the camera. "Oh my god, this needs to go on the wall!" everyone looks over my shoulder.

I didn't even realize I was leaning my head onto Peeta, and it's such a cute picture. I love it so much.

I put the camera on the deck.

"Let's go in the water." Annie says. I put my hands on Peeta's chest and push him into the water. He gets waist deep and falls, and he grabs onto my lips and pulls me down with him. We come up laughing.

All of us start messing around and splashing each other, and then Annie screams and runs from the water, grabbing her ass.

"What?" I demand, and then I scream, because something jabbed my ass. I whip around. "Oh, you bitch!" I shove Finnick down, and Annie and I splash him for a while before giving up.

I notice then, that Mama and Daddy and Annie's parents are on the deck. I grab Annie's arm.

Daddy and don't look happy.

We both leave them in the water and go out to the deck.

"Where is he?" Daddy asks

"Who?"

"Gale."

"What-"

"Prim told me what he did to you." He says. "Now who are those boys?"

"Um…Peeta and Johanna and Finnick."

"Really?" Mama asks. I nod. "Oh, I really love those kids."

"Where's Gale?"

"Daddy, I don't know."

"Well did you break up with him?" Mr. Cresta asks. He's my Daddy too, and Mrs. Cresta is my Mama.

"Yes, and I'm getting a restraining order."

Daddy sighs. "If he shows up…"

"He won't, and Peeta and Finnick are here. I'm safe, okay? Peeta lives right next door."

He sighs and nods. I kiss all of their cheeks to say goodbye, and then I run back to the water and jump on Peeta's back, knocking him into the water.

It's starting to get dark, so after our parents leave, we go inside. I take a shower and put on black spandex shorts and a skin tight white tank top. Peeta, Finnick, and Johanna go to Peeta's house to shower and dress, and then come back over.

We all settle in the living room on the back leather couch.

When you walk in the door to our house, the kitchen is directly at your left. all steel appliances, marble countertops, all that jazz. Right on the right is a hall with three bedrooms. The living room is right there, and if you go in the kitchen, there's a hall with two bedrooms. There's a bathroom in each hall, and there's a bathroom off of the kitchen, and there's a door to the garage in the kitchen hall, and the dining room is in the kitchen. It's a big house. No basement, but still, a nice big house. The desk has French doors.

We're all settled on the couch now, everyone but Prim.

"KATNISS!" she screams.

"What!" I bellow.

"Come here!"

She's in the bathroom in the hall right by the door. My room and Annie's room is in that hall, the other hall has two guest rooms and the spare room in our hall is a guest room.

I get up and go into the bathroom.

"What the fuck is your problem?" I demand. She's on the toilet.

"Look!" she hisses, and points to her underwear.

I start laughing, because she started her period. She started late because of dance. I started late. I was actually seventeen, because I was in softball, and I can slay at that game.

"It's not funny!" she snaps. "What do I do?"

"I'm getting Annie." I say. She doesn't protest. Annie is just as much her sister as I am.

"Hey Ann?" I call.

"Yeah?" she replies.

"Come here a second?"

She sighs, and then walks into the bathroom. She smiles.

"What do I do?" Prim repeats.

I open up the cabinet and toss her a pad. I hate pads and I only use tampons. Same with Annie, but we keep pads in the house just in case.

"Put this in your underwear." I say. I walk out and get her clean underwear from her bag. She puts it on and pulls her pants up and stands up, and she wrinkles her nose.

"It feels like a diaper."

I start laughing again.

"Which is why I use tampons."

I walk out. Prim follows, and then Annie. Clearly, she's uncomfortable.

"I'm going to call Mama." I say, and I go out to the front porch.

I dial her and wait.

"Hello?" she asks.

"Hi." I say. "Prim started her period." I say.

"Really?" Mama asks.

"Yes. She's fine, she's very uncomfortable."

"Okay. Does she wanna go home?"

"I'll ask. I open the front door. "Prim, Mama wants to know if you want to go home?"

She hesitates, and then nods.

"She said yes. Want me to drop her off?"

"No, I'll come get her. What about Luke?"

"Luke, do you want to go home?"

He nods.

"Yes." I say.

"Alright, I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too." She hangs up.

I go in the house and shut the front door. Nugget whines. I look at him, and he's sitting at the back door. I let him out, and then sit down on the couch next to Peeta.

They're watching a Disney movie. It's Belle.

I don't care how old I am. I'll still watch Disney channel.

"Peet." Finn says.

"What?" Peeta asks.

"Can I move in?"

"Yeah, can I?" Johanna asks.

He shrugs. "I don't care."

"You don't care if I get a puppy tomorrow?" Finnick asks.

"No." Peeta says.

"Where are you getting a puppy from?" Johanna asks.

"That pet store in town. Furry People."

"They're expensive." Johanna says. I look at Annie with a smirk, because that's our pet store.

"I can get you a puppy from there for free." I say.

"How?" Peeta asks. "I've wanted a kitten from there but it's expensive. I can see why though. Ot's the only place in town with all pets and supplies for them."

"How the _hell_ are you going to get animals for free from there?" Finnick asks. "Do you know the owner?"

"I _am_ the owner."

"What?" Finn says.

"Well, Annie and I. We bought that old building, fixed it up, and made it a pet shop. So yeah, I can get you anything for free from there, because I own it."

"So you can get me a kitten?" Peeta asks.

"If you want a kitten, you can have a kitten."

"And a puppy?" Finnick asks. I nod.

"What about bunnies?" Johanna demands.

"That too."

"Oh, I don't want to wait until tomorrow!" Finn whines.

"So let's go now." Annie says.

"It's closed." Finn says.

I wave the key in his face.

"Who's car are we taking, because I need gas and I don't feel like driving." Peeta says.

"We'll take mine."

"It's eleven at night guys." Luke says.

"Well too bad." Annie says.

"I want to go." Prim says.

"No. Mama's here anyways." I say.

"Well I'll tell her to leave." Prim says.

"We don't have room for you guys."

She sighs in irritation. "Fine."

She grabs her shit and walks out, and Luke follows.

I grab my keys and wallet and phone and go outside.

"I don't have a shirt on." Finnick says.

"Yeah uh…" Peeta hesitates. They're both shirtless.

"So?" I ask.

They shrug, and we all get in my car.

"I don't have shoes." Johanna says.

"Neither do I." I reply.

I slam on the gas after backing out of the driveway and put the top down as we fly over the bridge to town.

I pull into the parking lot and park, and then we go around the front and I unlock the door. The bell rings, and the puppies start barking as I flick on the lights and toss my keys and phone and wallet on the counter.

We have a veterinary hospital here too. Annie and I went to school for business, but we took vet classes too, so we could be vets but we didn't want to. We do everything here in the shop.

"How do we opens the cages?" Peeta asks. I toss him the kitten keys. "Follow the numbers in the bottom left." I say, and I toss Finn the puppy keys.

Johanna finds a bunny, and she falls in love with it. It's black with white spots.

"I want it." She says. "Is it a boy?"

"Yes."

"It's named Midnight." She decides.

Finnick gasps, and then a puppy comes running around the shop. Finn chases it, and I pick it up and hand it to him. It's a lab.

"What if I want a puppy instead?" Peeta asks, handing me the keys.

"Then you get a puppy.

"Come with me." he says, grabbing my hand. I move around the counter and let him pull me to the back.

His hand is warm in mine. It's familiar, but different.

"He's cute." He says, pointing to a beagle. I smile.

"It's a she, and she's my favorite right now."

He unlocks the cage and picks her up, and he's so cute with her. "I want her." He says. I smile.

"Okay." Johanna and Finn and Annie are in the front.

We're both quiet, studying each other's eyes.

"I've missed you." He whispers.

"I've missed you too." I whisper, shutting the locking the cage.

Annie and I get them the best of everything, and we go ahead and give the puppies the shots they need, and then we leave.

…..a…..

We don't get to the house until one thirty in the morning.

After much debating, everyone decides to spend the night. Johanna with sleep in the spare by Annie and I and Peeta and Finn will sleep in the kitchen hall.

We put on a movie, and I end up falling asleep on the couch, using Peeta's arm as my pillow.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up nestled in Peeta's chest. Johanna is in the bedroom, and Finnick and Annie are gone.

I shift in his arms to face the ceiling. He's awake, and I look at him.

"Want me to move?" I mumble, and he shakes his head.

"Let's go to a room." He mumbles. I get up, and he follows me to my room. I lock the door, and lay down with him.

"You're so…" I trail off, thinking. "Familiar."

He pulls me closer. "Is that a good thing?"

"Yes." I whisper. "But still…you're so familiar, yet so different."

"Different?" he asks.

"Yes, because now we're older, and it doesn't have to be fake anymore."

He smiles. "For five year olds, we did a pretty damn good job."

I laugh softly. "We even had rings."

He laughs. "Oh, we were a piece of work. Remember when they didn't fit, so we moved them to our pinkies?"

I laugh and nod. "We were head over heels in love."

We don't say anything for a while. "I still am." He finally whispers.

"What?" I ask.

"I still am head over heels in love with you. This time it's okay, and we're allowed to be, and we're adults. Everything we wanted a kids. We had our whole lives planned out, remember?" he starts rubbing my back. "We were going to have sex in freshmen year. We thought it was okay to wait until we were in high school." He laughs softly. "And we were going to elope, and run off to college, and I'd get you pregnant at twenty."

We both laugh. "Oh, the worst part is we would've gone through with it." I whisper.

"But then my Dad got his new job, and we moved to North Carolina. I thought I was going to die. I cried so hard when I found out. It was so hard for me to tell you. God, you looked so…destroyed. Annie did, too."

"I cried." I whisper. "_After_ I threw the ring at your head."

He sighs. "You're still so beautiful."

I smile, and we search each other's eyes for a long time.

"I thought I was never going to see you again." I whisper. "I'd been miserable until college graduation. Annie had too, actually, but we faked being happy. It wasn't till we moved here that we got less depressed. Gale just…he made things worse."

"I hate him." he whispers. He looks down at my bruised arm and sighs.

"Me too." I whisper. We don't speak again.

We study each other's faces. It's nearing ten. Annie will be waking up soon.

I scoot closer to him, and then slowly, I kiss him.

His lips are soft and familiar, just like they always have been.

He deepens the kiss, and I sit up, pulling him with me.

So many memories come rushing through my head, and I slide into his lap. He pulls me closer, so we're pushed up against each other.

His mouth starts to move down my jaw. My hands run along his chest. "Peeta." I mumble. "We can't."

He pulls away, and kisses me. "We won't."

…..a…..

He went home and took Johanna and Finnick with him, and the puppies, and the bunny. I sit on the couch in silence.

Annie sits next to me.

"Did you have sex?" she asks. I shake my head.

"You?" she shakes her head.

I can't think straight. Why are we even getting close to having sex when we technically aren't even a thing?

I sigh, and then go to my room, and I change into my bathing suit, and put a white half shirt over it. I put my sunglasses on, and I tie my hair up and go to the garage and get my beach bag, and my fishing pole, and I go to the backyard and toss them in the boat.

"I'm going on the boat." I say.

"I'm coming." She says.

Peeta goes on the boat a lot. If he isn't writing, he's normally on his boat.

I lock up the house and wait for Annie, and then we get the boat in the water, and we take off.

We drive for a while, and I wait till we're deep into the great lakes to toss the anchor.

We sit there. We can't see any land. Annie and I may be female, but we still fish.

I toss the line, and Annie tosses hers, and we just sit there and wait.

"What's on your mind?" she whispers.

"Peeta." I mutter.

"I realize that, but _what_?"

I sigh. "What's the point of us being around each other if we're not even a thing?"

She sighs. "Honey, you just saw him yesterday for the first time in eleven years. Give it time."

"I really love him."

"I know you do."

We sit in silence, and then I pull my line up and sit with my feet handing off the bow.

Annie's phone starts ringing.

"Hello?" she asks. "On the boat, why?" she's quiet for a while. "Really? That's awesome!" she says. "Yeah, we'll come. When are we leaving?" she pauses. "An hour, give us an hour."

She hangs up. "We're going with Jo, Finn, and Peeta to Wisconsin tonight." She says, pulling her line in.

"What for?" I ask.

She smiles. "Their parents live in a little town. They gave Rye and Graham the okay to throw a party. They've got _acres_."

"So we're going to a party?" I ask. She nods.

"A campfire and it's going to be big. Lots of people."

I start the boat and we speed back to the house. They're waiting, and they help us to put the boat back, and then Annie and I rush inside. I shower, and then I ask how long we're staying, and Peeta says to pack for a week.

"It gets cold at night." He says.

I pack a ton of clothes into my duffle bag, and then I put on dark denim short shorts, my black converse, a white tank top, a red and black and white plaid button down that is longer in the back. I tie it at the bottom and leave it open, and then I drag my duffle bag into the living room.

"Ah, I was waiting for the braid." Johanna says.

"Who's driving?" I ask.

"You are." Finn says.

So we go out to my car, which I forgot to put in the garage last night.

When I try to start it, it doesn't do anything. It doesn't even make a noise.

"What are you waiting for?" Johanna asks.

"It's not doing anything." I say. I turn the key three more times, and then I get out and lift the hood.

The motors gone, and there's a note taped to the inside of the hood.

_That's what you fucking get for breaking up with me_

I slam the hood, pissed, and grab my phone and call Daddy.

"Hey Kitten."

"Gale took my engine." I say.

"What?" he asks.

"Gale came over and took the fucking engine to my car and lft a note saying that's what I get for breaking up with him!"

"Are you serious?" he asks.

"Yes!"

"Okay, I'm going to get you a new car. It won't take long. An hour tops."

I hang up and sit on the hood. They get out, and we sit around.

My anger gets the best of me, and I call the police.

They show up, and I explain everything. They nod, and I tell them how he yells at me all the time and that he grabbed my arm, and I show them the bruises.

"Well this is vandalism, domestic, and physical abuse. This can get him arrested. Don't worry. We'll take care of it…and you're car…we'll see what we can do."

"Don't worry about my car. My Dad is taking care of it."

He nods and says he'll call me with information, and he takes the note and leaves. I lay down in the grass. Annie convinces me to switch into jeans and out on my cowgirl boots. I give in and go and lay back in the grass.

Daddy lulls up with Mama behind him. Mama's in Daddy's truck, and Daddy's in a brand new 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500.

I've been talking about this truck since before it even was on the market. Daddy said he'd get if for me for Christmas.

"Happy?" He asks.

"Yes!" I hug him. It's blood red.

"It's a manual."

I used to be pissed that my car wasn't a manual. I'm so glad my truck is. We all toss our stuff in the back.

Mama greets Peeta and Johanna and Finnick.

"So where are you guys headed?" Daddy asks.

"Peeta's parents house in Wisconsin." I say. He nods.

"Oh, I miss them." Mama smiles.

"Come along." Peeta says. "Mom was really happy when I told her that we were in touch again. She was asking how you guys were and she said she wanted to see you. Dad was happy too. Bring Prim and Like and Mr and Mrs Cresta and come along."

"Yeah, my parents like you guys." Johanna says, and Finn agrees.

We wait a half hour for them, and I walk around my truck, obsessing and wiping off fingerprints.

"God, it's perfect." I mutter.

"Look inside." Johanna says, but I refuse.

It's noon. We'll get there around eight, right when the party starts.

"I can't wait to drive it." I say, and I start pacing.

"Shotgun!" Peeta says when Mr. Cresta pulls up in his Ford F150 with everyone.

They wave for us to go, and I get in the car and I put on the GPS with Peeta's help, and then I put the car in neutral and back out.

"I haven't driven manual in four years. If I stall, I'm sorry. It'll come back to me, I swear."

We put the windows down, and we blast the stereo, and we're all cheering, and Nugget and the puppies are in the bed of the truck and the puppies and bunny are in cages but Nugget isn't. . He's very well trained so I'll let him roam the property. He'll come to a whistle.

I speed, and Daddy texts me about it. I put on cruise control at the right speed, and we all sing loudly and shout.

I downshift into forth when we enter a town, and then third, and then second to turn. We talk about stopping for food, but Peeta insists we don't have to. He informs Annie and I that all of their parents are really excited to see us. Rye and Graham are happy too.

A Hunter Hayes song comes on.

I love him, and Annie does too, so we blast it, and scream sing along.

"Slow down." Peeta says. It's getting dark, and we're in the middle of the country. "Katniss, I'm serious. It's deer hour, and they run across the street."

I shift into third and slow way down, and we go through an Indian reservation.

"Really quick, go into fifth and gun it."

I do, and we go over a big hill and we actually lift off the ground. I shift into third then, and shut off the GPS and let Peeta give us instructions.

"Okay. There. See? The fire. This is their property."

"It's giant." Annie says.

I shift into second and pull into the driveway. There's a giant fire out in the field, and there's cows in the barn to the left, and the house is lit up to the right. My family is behind us.

I shut off the truck, and someone goes running past into the house.

"Was that Rye?" I ask.

"Yes." He says.

Graham runs after him. They look the same, just older and more muscular.

We all get out, and Peeta stops me outside.

"Wait." He says. "Be my girlfriend?" He asks.

"Okay." I smile. He pulls me in the house and everyone follows us. They didn't hear him ask. I glue myself to Annie.

"Peet!" Graham yells, clapping him on the back. "About damn time! Finnick, you big o' dumbass!" He gives him a guy hug.

It's so familiar and warm and comforting.

Finn hugs his parents, and Johanna hugs hers.

"Katniss!" Rye yells!" He runs for me and picks me up and spins me around, and waits till he knows I'm dizzy to put me down.

I stumble, and grab Annie's arm.

"You got hot!" He says once I've regained my balance. I roll my eyes.

"Thanks. You look the same."

"Hi Katniss." Graham says. He too, makes me dizzy, and then sets me down. This time, I grab Peeta's hand. He keeps me steady. Annie gets attacked then, and then Prim.

"Katniss. You grew up into a beautiful woman." Mrs. Mellark hugs me.

"Thank you." I smile.

I get the same thing from Peeta's dad, and then Finn and Jo's parents.

Then.

"We need another truck." Rye says. "Who's Chevy?"

"Mine." I say.

"Awesome. Thanks." He grabs the keys and runs off. Mr. Cresta let's Graham use his truck, and all of us go out the back door and run down the path. There's a lot of people, loud country music, tons of alcohol, and a big fire. We use the beds of both trucks. I let Nugget loose. She won't go far. Finnick and Annie take the puppies and bunny inside.

It's so weird. A lot of people that I know from middle and elementary school are here.

"Some people followed us all the way through." Peeta explains. People throw cans into the fire, and they throw in a broken chair, and there's a lot of drunk people. Peeta gives me a beer, and he sits in the bed of my truck. I sit between his legs. Annie and Finn join us. We sip beer, and then we start conversing.

I start getting a bit more open, not even tipsy, but more comfortable, and Annie and I get in the bed of my truck. I let my hair out, and we start dancing and singing to Luke Bryan. Johanna's flirting, and Peeta and Finnick are watching Annie and I.

"I'm a little drunk on you, and high on summer time!" Annie and I sing.

We sing every song, and eventually, Peeta brings me down and takes me to the barn, up to the hay loft.

"So tell me." He whispers "what happened after I left? I checked your old house and it was for sale."

I lean against the hay, between his legs. I shrug. "I joined the softball team and when Annie and I went to Michigan University everyone moved with us."

"Softball?" He asks. I nod.

"If we set up a ton of lights, can we play? I wanna see if your any good."

I smirk. "You're on!"

...9...

It took a while, but with a lot of cars, we lit up the field. Everyone sat around and we formed teams. Peeta's pitching. Boys against girls.

Annie hits first. She's not horrible. I taught her some stuff. We used old hubcaps as bases. She only gets as far as first. Our parents are outside, watching, and Luke and Prim are playing. There's nine batters. Johanna goes, and she gets to second. Annie gets home.

Prim goes, and she sucks. She gets an out. I'm last. Some girl named Rebecca is next. She gets to third.

The next girl gets an out.

"I don't want to go next." A girl whispers. "We're gonna get out and they're gonna be jackasses about it."

"I'll go." I say.

Annie's smirking so big, and so is Prim. I grab the bat and twirl it.

"Ready to lose?" Peeta asks.

"I should be asking you the same question." I say with an evil smile.

He throws a terrible pitch, and I don't swing.

"Ball!" The crowd chants.

He throws another terrible one, and I don't swing. "Ball! Come on Peet!" Rye scream at him, hurling the ball back at him.

He's doing it on purpose.

Peeta throws a fast ball. I swing, and nail it with the middle of the bat. It goes flying, and Peeta watches in shock as I bullet to first, and second, and third. They get the ball when I. At second, and right before they can get me, I slide to home, and everyone starts cheering.

I go stand next to Johanna and Annie. Peeta's shocked. I blow him a kiss, and then kiss my finger and touch my ass with it, telling him to kiss my ass. He starts laughing and pitches the ball to the next girl.

She gets our third out and we switch. They let me go to the most active place. I get the only mitt, and I wait.

They're all good, but almost every ball goes flying towards me and I catch them. Johanna's waiting to get the balls I miss.

I miss Peeta's, and I send the ball flying to Johanna, and she gets him out on first. People are staring to chant my name.

That was our third out. It's one to one right now.

...8...

We won, and Peeta's frustrated. I keep teasing him about it.

"It's not funny!" He says.

"Oh come on!" I exclaim, "You know you wanna laugh too." I whisper.

He cracks a smile, and I start laughing.

"Oh, shut up." He says. I laugh, and push his chest. He pokes my nose, and laughs when I go cross eyed. All the parents are watching us with huge smiles. I push his shoulder, and I make him go cross-eyed, and I let out a girly laugh. It's high pitch, and only he can bring it out of me. That's how it's always been. He brings out the love and soft side part of me. He makes me so happy.

I hop up on the bed of my truck and hook my fingers in the belt loops of his jeans. I kiss him softly on the lips, and I hear Annie squealing to Finn about it. This is the first time we've kissed in front of everyone else. The parents look so happy, and so does Johanna and Finnick and Annie. It's a short kiss. He kisses my three more times. "You wanna see something?" He asks.

"Okay." I whisper. He digs out his wallet and Finnick starts whispering frantically to the parents and to Annie and Johanna. They're all staring now.

"What?" I ask. He hops up next to me, and I move closer to the window. We shut off the lights of the cars and now it's just the firelight that's lighting up our faces. It's one in the morning, and I put a sweatshirt on because it's in the forties. People are laughing, but the music is off. It's so nice and calming. He uses his phone as a light, and places two small objects in my hands.

The rings. His is the same. It's that plastic ring, with the plastic square blue gem. Mine is a plastic ring with a plastic circle pink gem.

"Oh Peeta." I whisper. My eyes filling with tears. We're sitting with our legs crossed, and they're touching. I'm leaning against the car part, and so is he. Tears slide down my cheeks. "You really did keep them."

"I couldn't ever let go. I knew I'd never be with anyone else."

"Peeta, Gale wasn't-"

"I know." He whispers. "And I don't care. I understand why you were with him. You thought we'd never see each other again, and so did I. I guess fate had us meet our souls ares early, and our souls just got lost for a little while." I smile.

I put the ring on my pinkie, but it doesn't fit. I laugh, wiping away my tears. They're still watching us, but I don't care.

Still, more tears fall and he brushes them away.

"I love you." I whisper.

I haven't really told him all but once.

"I love you too." He murmurs. I hug him, the rings clutched in my fist.

Then I climb in the back window of my truck and get two fiddle chains. The silver ones that are made out of the balls. I keep them I'm my purse, because when we were, Peeta showed up at my house with them and told me they were relationship necklaces they're stupid and pointless, but I kept then. I hand Peeta one.

"Is this..." He trails off when I nod.

I put his ring on one and put it around his neck, and I put mine on the other and he puts it around my neck.

We sit there then, just talking. I mostly listen to the stories of everything I missed over the years. I nod a lot when he asks me questions, and we're smiling the whole time.

I cut him off to kiss him at random times. Finally, at three in the morning, I lay a blanket in the bed of my truck, and I whistle for Nugget. She comes bolting out of the trees a few minutes later and curls up next to me. I pull Peeta down with me, and we look at the stars for a while, pointing out random constellations. After a half hour, the fire light and the slowness of Peeta's breathing lulls me to sleep.

...8...

Birds chirping is the first thing I notice. The next thing I notice is that Peeta's gone. Nugget took his place. People are talking. I sit up, and Peeta's with all of the parents. Mr. Mellark says something to him, and he turns around, and then says something to him and comes over to me. He kisses me. He's not in the truck, he's standing behind it. I scoot closer so he's in between me.

"You okay?" He asks. I nod, and wrap my arms around his neck and bustle my head in his shoulder.

"I'm tired." I mumble. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer.

"I know something to wake you up." He says.

"Yeah?" I ask. He nods, and he picks me up, and walks about ten feet away from the truck. Everyone that's awake is watching us. He shifts me she he's holding my hips. "What are you-"

And then he throws me right up in the air. He's strong, and I soar twenty feet above him. I scream, and everyone else gasps. Right when in sure I'm gonna die, he catches me, and then sets me down.

"What the fuck was that?" I demand.

He smirks. "You said you were tired." He says.

"But I didn't say I wanted to die!"

"Your not dead." He says. "Are you mad at me?" He gives me that innocent look. I stare at him with my arms crossed.

"I'm not happy." I say.

He sighs when I walk past him.

People start getting up, and Johanna and Annie come over to me.

"Paybacks a bitch." Johanna says, and points to a bucket of ice water.

"Get his phone." I whisper.

She nods and walks over to Peeta. Everyone's cleaning up. "Hey, can I use your phone?" She asks.

"Sure." He hands it to her, and people watch with smirks as I pick up the bucket and dump it right on his head. I drop it, and he gasps and turns around.

"Paybacks a bitch!" I giggle. He takes his shirt off, and I gasp as he reaches for me, and then turn around and run.

He chases me around the field, and finally he arms lock around my waist. Everyone is watching. I squeal, pushing his chest. He laughs, and picks me up so my arms are around his waist.

"That wasn't very nice." he whispers.

"Who ever said I was nice?" I smile.


	4. Chapter 4

We cleaned up after the party, and we're all in the living room. Prim and Luke went for a walk.

We don't have the TV on, we're just talking.

"I still remember that summer," Rye says. "Every one of us went to Disney."

"Oh man! That was so fun!" Annie says.

"Remember we got stuck at the top of Thunder Mountain?" I ask Peeta.

He nods.

"I still have the pictures. I have all of the pictures we ever took" Mrs. Mellark says. "If someone wants to go get them…" she trails off.

"I will. Where are they?"

"In a box in the basement, under the bathroom sink. It says pictures on it."

I nod and go down to the basement, and then I gasp.

Prim and Luke didn't go for a walk.

No, Prim is in her underwear _only_ and Luke is in his boxers. They're making out. They spring apart, and start scrambling for their clothes. Prim is dressed in under thirty seconds.

"Daddy's gonna kill you guys!" I yell at them. "What the fuck!"

"No, because he isn't going to find out!" Prim yells.

"Wanna bet?" I yell back at her.

I grab the box and run.

She chases after me, and I put the box on the coffee table. She slaps me , and I punch her, and pushes me down, covering my mouth. I flip, and pin her to the floor by the arms and legs.

"Knock it off!" Mama says, shoving us apart. "Dammit! What the hell happened?"

"If I went down there a minute later, they'd have been having sex!" I say, breathless.

Daddy's silent. "Primrose, is this true?" he stands up.

"No!" she lies. Daddy looks at me.

I put my hands up in defense. "I swear I'm telling the truth."

Luke comes in the house.

"God Luke, you're such a dog!" Annie says. "You don't need sex! Hell, I'm a virgin!"

"That's because you can't get a boyfriend!" Luke snaps. "You and Katniss are just jealous!"

Like I said, we're all like one giant family. There's two sets of parents and four kids.

"We're not jealous!" I snap. "I'm _happy_ I didn't get sixteen and pregnant!"

"I'm not going to get pregnant!" Prim yells, and she hits me again, and Annie, and I hit her back, and her nose starts gushing with blood. Annie and I both start fighting her.

"Hey!" Mr. Cresta yells. "Knock it off!" I shove Prim away from me.

"I'm really sorry." Mama apologizes to Mrs. Mellark. "We'll take tis outs-"

Mrs. Mellark starts shaking her head. "It's okay. Trust me, four boys and one girl causes _many_ fights. I completely understand."

Mrs. Cresta sighs. "All four of you, outside. Now."

"What the fuck did I do?" I demand.

"Did I say only for _you_ to go outside?" she asks. "No, I didn't. Now go."

I groan and stomp out of the house. Annie follows me, letting the door slam behind her. Prim comes out, and Luke, and then all our parents.

"I can't believe you fucking told them!" she yells at me.

"You're _sixteen_!" Annie yells back, defending me. This is how it's always been. Annie and I stick up for each other, and Prim and Luke fend for themselves.

"Just because you guys haven't had sex yet doesn't mean that I can't!" Prim sneers.

Annie and I attack her again, and Daddy pulls me and Annie away.

"Alright!" Mr. Cresta yells when the four of us start screaming at each other. "You girls are twnenty four years old and you're acting like teenagers! Prim, stop saying shit to piss them off! You're just asking for it! You _know_ they have tempers. Luke, you're not having sex, okay? You're fucking sixteen years old! Now, I want all of you to hug and make up. You're not going back inside until you do."

I cross my arms. "I'm not touching them."

"Yeah, I don't even want to look at her!" Prim says.

"Prim, you're grounded." Mama says.

"What!" she yells.

"ENOUGH!" Daddy yells. He's had enough. "You're grounded. Stop yelling. Give me your phone."

She's pissed. She slams her phone into her hand, and goes storming down the street.

"Luke, you're grounded too." Mr. Cresta says.

Luke rolls his eyes, shoves his phone at his father and goes storming into the opposite direction as Prim.

Annie and I sit down on the porch when our parents go inside.

"They're such dumbasses." She mutters. I nod in agreement.

Peeta, Finnick, and Johanna comes outside.

"Your phone has rang six times." Peeta hands me my phone.

"So has yours." Finn hands Annie her phone. I check the number and sigh. I'm the main owner. Annie said she wanted me to be.

I call back the store.

"Katniss." Adrian sighs.

"What's wrong?"

"All the bills came in, and some guy, and he was asking for you..."

"Okay…" I hesitate.

"He…he said if he didn't see you in twenty four hours, he'd come back and kill everyone. He left an hour ago…"

I sigh. "His name is Gale." Everyone looks at me. "I'll come home." I run my fingers through my hair. "I'll take care of it." I say, and I hang up.

…..a…..

I went home, and we're all back at our houses. I called the police, and Gale has a warrant out for his arrest. My cop guy is coming into the store all day and he'll act like a costumer. I'm supposed to come into work. Peeta doesn't want me to go, and Annie isn't allowed to. I won't let her, insisting that I'd rather something to happen to me than to her.

It's storming outside, and I'm sitting in the living room. The only sound in the house is the clock ticking is the rain hitting the roof, and the thunder. Annie's asleep. It's three in the morning, and I can't sleep, because I'm scared.

Thunder claps, and I fall asleep.

…..a…..

The cop was here before I got here. Adrian is here. I'm wearing a white dress that goes seven inches above my knee, my hair is down, and I have white sunglasses on my head. The black of the dress is open, and I have on a jean jacket that has sleeves like a vest. My shoes are black flats, and they have spikes on them.

I ring someone up for their puppy food, and Gale comes in.

The cop is watching secretly.

I sigh.

"Katniss." Gale says curtly. "Come outside."

"No Gale. You need to leave." I say. I'm scared shitless, but I'm masking my emotions big time, and I'm masking the tears dying to form.

He reaches into his pants pocket and points the gun right at me, and he cocks it. All he has to do is pull the trigger and I'll be dead.

"Come outside. You have five sec-"

"Stop!" the guy says. "Put your hands were I can see them! You're under arrest for stealing, for physical abuse, and for domestic abuse. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law."

He cuffs Gale, and takes his gun.

I wait till they're gone, and then I slump against the counter. Adrian puts her hand on my back. "You can leave-"

"Let's just close up for the day." I say quietly. "Go home Adrian, and thank you."

She walks out, and I close up the shop and arm the alarm, and then I get in my truck and I go flying home.

Everyone's over. The TV is off, and the tension is thick.

"Get in your bathing suits." I say, and I walk into my room, slamming my door.

I put on a white bathing suit top, and my pink bottoms, and a pair of short shorts, and a really lose white half shirt that falls off of one shoulder. I tie my hair up in a messy bun, and I put on flip flops, and then I walk out of my room. They changed already.

"Katniss," Annie starts.

"I don't want to talk about it yet." I say, and I go outside. She sighs, but doesn't press. I get the boat ready, and we work together to get it out on the water.

I sit at the bow alone, and let Peeta drive.

We drive for a really long time, and finally, in the middle of just water, Peeta stops the boat and tosses the anchor. We all cast our lines, and I sit there. They're whispering about me, and I don't even care. The only sound is them whispering, and the water splashing softly against the boat, and the occasional noise of Nugget's paws as she walks around.

Finally, I speak up. "He was gonna kill me." I say, staring out at the water. "If Adrian hadn't warned me…he'd have killed me, or raped me…" I rest my head on the bar. "He put the gun to my head."

Nobody says anything, and honestly, I don't want them to.

"I'm promoting Adrian to assistant manager." Annie says.

I take off my shirt and shorts, and then I stand up. It's deep. I can tell, because at the great lakes, the water isn't very cloudy. I can't see the bottom. I pull my line in, and stand up on the railing. I gain my balance, and then I dive into the water.


	5. Chapter 5

I haven't seen or spoken to Prim or Luke. Adrian got promoted.

The neighbors across the street moved out, and four boys and two girls that are our age moved in. Turns out, Peeta, Finnick, and Johanna were pretty damn popular in high school, and they were best friends with these rowdy people.

Now, the three of them went over there to greet them a half hour ago. Peeta and I are supposed to be meeting the for the movies tonight, and he's supposed to be meeting me at six because I had to stop at work.

So, I get dressed, and Annie leaves for dinner with our family.

I get in my truck and head to the movies.

…..a…..

I sat there for three and a half hours, and he didn't show up, or even bother to call.

I am pretty angry, so Annie took me back to the old times. We locked the doors, cuddled up with ice cream and chocolate with the door locked and the blinds pulled, and we lie on the couch, watching Netflix.

They're loud, and it's late, and someone could call the cops on them. I pull my truck in the garage. Annie fell asleep, but I'm awake, because I'm really upset. Now that their friends that they replaced Annie and I, we're forgotten about.

I'm outside, sitting on the porch from pulling the truck in. I'm so upset and angry.

I hear all of them laughing, and I get up, and I go in the house, and I slam the door so hard the windows shake. I know it caught their attention, because the noise stopped and Peeta looked out the window. I lock the door, and shut the light off, and then I turn off the TV and wake Annie. "You need to go to your own bed." I say.

She gets up and goes to her room, and I go to mine, and I stare at the fan until I see double and tears blur my vision, and then I fall asleep.

…..a…..

I went to work until noon. Annie didn't, because she had a headache.

I get home with food for Annie.

And guess what? Johanna and Finnick and Peeta are in the street, playing football. They move for me and I pull into the driveway. Annie's sitting on the porch swing, looking pissed as hell, watching them. I get out of my truck and lock the doors, and give Annie her food and sit down next to her.

"Have they even waved?" I ask angrily. I'm so fucking pissed at him. I don't even want to look at him.

"Nope." She says angrily, picking out the tomatoes and feeding them to Nugget. "Look at the way that slut is all over Finnick. He was mine _first_." She hisses.

"They're just our replacement." I mutter.

"Yeah, I know!" she says. "I fucking hate her!" her voice is rising, and they all look over here. "And then the other girl, all over _your_ boyfriend!"

I look at the girl she's talking about, and sure enough, she keeps grabbing Peeta's biceps and hugging him. He looks uncomfortable, and then shrugs her off and says something to every, and then jogs over to us. I stare at him with my arms crossed, with the worst glare I can muster.

"Who's the whore?" I ask bluntly. He sighs.

"Kayla." He says. "She won't stop. I don't like her, I swear." I don't say anything. "Finnick doesn't like Julia either."

"Well you definitely like them more than me." I snap.

"Why would you-"

"The fucking movies, Peeta!" I said it loud, and Johanna and Finnick both exchanged a look.

His eyes widen. "Katniss-"

"No. Okay, go back to your friends. I'm not in the fucking mood. I sat there for three and a half hours waiting for you last night! Just leave me the fuck alone for a little while, okay?" I go in the house, and Annie follows me.

"It's okay to cry." She says.

And I do, and she sits there, holding my hand, and a box of tissues, and she lets me cry, and then what does she do?

She takes me to the movies herself.

Who needs boys? My sister is better.

…a…

It took me a week to park my truck in the driveway instead of the garage.

He stopped hanging out with them, and so did Johanna and Finnick.

He went back to writing, but he always has the blinds closed.

I took that damn necklace off, and it's sitting on my desk. I stare at it for a long time, and then I get up. I didn't go to work today. Annie's home and all the windows are open, and the doors. It's a cool day. Annie has candles lit all around the house, and she's sipping lemonade on the couch with the fan blowing her hair. I take a shower, and I let my hair down, and I put on a blue tank top and a bra and panties and a white pair of short shorts. I put on don't put on shoes, I just go storming out of the house. Annie watches from the window as I cut across their yard and go banging on the door. Johanna opens it, and looks me up and down.

This is the first time I've never been inside their house.

"He won't come out of his study." Johanna says. She's not mad at me. Finnick isn't either. They walk out of the house and go over to Annie. I shut the front door, and go banging on the door.

"Go away Johanna!" He snaps.

"It's not Johanna! Open the fucking door!"

He does. He's clean, and he looks fine, but I can see the difference in his eyes.

He looks sad, and irritated, but not with me, with himself.

"Where's your room?" I demand. He points to a shut door, and I grab his hand and go into it. I close the blinds and slam the door and lock it.

"Katniss," he sighs, but I push him onto the bed.

"Shut up." I say. I climb on top of him and pull my tank top off. His eyes get huge, because this is the first time he's seen me in my bra. Sure, there's a bikini, but there's a different type of innocence with a bra. "We're having sex, Peeta." I say, and I pull his shirt off and start kissing him like mad.

…..a…..

I left him in bed. I fucked him and left, and I went into the kitchen and took one of Annie's birth control pills.

"Did you guys make up?" Johanna asks

"I left him naked in bed." I say.

"Are you serious?" Annie asks.

"Yup."

I never thought our lost souls would be rejoined.

**Alright, that's the end. I'm getting rid of the nice side of me. **

**I'm done writing on FFN. People are pissing me off. You guys were bitching because I wasn't finishing stories, or I was taking too long to write, and now I'm finishing stories and posting a ton of chapters a day and you're bitching about the way I do it. I'm fucking done with this site. I'm so angry. I've got enough shit to deal with in my own life. For the people that I've made friends with from this site, feel free to kik me, but I don't want to fucking deal with this anymore. I'm sick and tired of it. To the people I know are true loyal followers, go ahead and PM me, and I'll give you the name to my new site. For the rest…I don't care.**


	6. Chapter 6

**My kik is lovethgtrilogy22**


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